Sorry, I think my cat is shredding it.
The problem, I think, for most of the people on THIS forum is that an awful lot of us are with alcoholics who are still drinking and really have no honest desire to stop. They might be paying lip service to recovery for the sake of trying to make nice and keep the peace, but they mostly aren't people who have hit their personal bottom. Even if they realize they have a problem, they still think they can control it (despite the ever-mounting evidence that they can't). So yeah, for people who are still at that point, successful recovery isn't imminent.
You never know, though, what might happen to bring someone to the point where it CAN happen. Every person who DOES successfully recover was once exactly like ever other in-denial alcoholic that you're sort of writing off.
The question, for most people on this forum, who are still with an active alcoholic, is whether they can or should hang in there until the miracle happens (that is, if it does).
I know that when I quit drinking, it was because I saw no hope for myself unless I did. I know when I left my second husband, it was for the same reason--I saw no hope for myself unless I did. It was no longer about whether he would eventually "get it"--it was about whether I could afford (emotionally and financially) to stick around long enough to find out. And the point at which that occurs, either for the alcoholic or for the partner--the point at which you feel you HAVE to do something--is different for each person. Call it a personal pain threshold. I hit mine with my drinking, and I wanted to quit more than anything. I hit mine in my relationship, and I knew I HAD to get out.
I think for people who REALLY want to quit, the odds are reasonably good. Even if there are a few stumbles, someone who wants it bad enough will keep trying until he or she gets it right. The problem is that a lot of people who don't REALLY want to quit will pretend that they do. And that can throw off the people around them, who so desperately want them to quit drinking. It's easy to fool someone who wants to believe.
Whatever, I'm just rambling. I guess my point is that if we don't have a huge number of people on this forum with partners who are happily and successfully in recovery. So I think the odds of recovery look a bit skewed if this is the sample you are looking at.